“Wait! What do you mean you won’t be my disciple!?”

“It means exactly what it sounds like,” Kid Vremya said. Currently, he was standing in the plaza of the Moon Lotus Sect. The trip to the Moon Lotus Sect was uneventful; he was cultivating the whole way there. In fact, he was already on the verge of breaking through to the fourth stage of qi condensation. As the crane got closer and closer to the center of the continent, the spiritual energy in the air became thicker and thicker. If his cultivation speed didn’t increase, he would’ve demanded a refund on every single cultivation technique he had bought from the marketplace.

“But you agreed!” Elder Formation said, practically shouting. She took a moment to recollect herself, and did her best to put on a friendly smile. “Don’t you remember what your grandmother told you? Wasn’t there the story about the horse and the gift? She told you to become my disciple, didn’t she? Come, tell everyone the story.”

Kid Vremya looked around before nodded. The new disciples were gathered in the plaza with him, and all the available elders were at the front, sitting in chairs that towered above the children. Kid Vremya straightened his back. “There once was a poor farmer. One day, while he was working in the field, a horse came up to him and dropped a bag of gold by the farmer’s feet before running away. The farmer was surprised but happy. The next day, the horse came back with another bag of gold. It once again dropped it by the farmer’s feet and ran away. The next day, the farmer brought his family outside to show them the money-giving horse. However, the horse didn’t show up. Bandits came instead, looking for their lost gold. They killed the farmer and his family and took back their gold. The moral of the story is to never trust anyone bearing gifts.”

Question marks filled the space over the elders’ heads. Elder Formation slapped her armrest. “Then why did you agree to become my disciple? If you didn’t trust me, you should’ve declined!”

“If I said no, you would’ve thrown me off the crane,” Kid Vremya said. “I had to trick you to prevent you from killing me.”

“He’s right,” an elder said and nodded. “Elder Formation has a bad temper. If this child refused to become her disciple, she definitely would’ve disposed of him. What a smart lad.”

“However, declining her right here in front of all of us, what does he plan on doing?”

Kid Vremya crossed his arms. “I’ve heard the Moon Lotus Sect is a place where the talented can grow without being oppressed by the older generation regardless of status. Their rank shall be determined by their talent and not by their connections or wealth. As long as one’s talent is great enough, they can even step on the heads of their elders without fear of repercussion.”

“Hah!” An elder let out a laugh, her eyes twinkling. “Where did you hear that from, child? The Moon Lotus Sect is nothing like that at all! We value tradition greatly, and—”

“Shut up.”

A sword appeared by the elder’s neck, drawing blood. She stopped speaking, her mouth frozen in place. Cold sweat ran down her back, and she resisted the urge to swallow, afraid the action would push the sword deeper into her flesh. Rachel was holding the other end of the sword, her eyes like those of a tiger. She slowly pulled the sword back, sliding it along the cut flesh of the elder. The motion didn’t cause the wound to worsen, but the elder wished the sect leader would’ve retrieved the sword in any other way.

Rachel sheathed her sword and nodded at Kid Vremya. “You’re exactly right. That’s the kind of place the Moon Lotus Sect is striving to be. Even though you’re a male, you’re more than qualified to choose your own master. Pick wisely.” She gave Kid Vremya a thin smile. Of all the disciples gathered, he was the only boy. In the first place, the Moon Lotus Sect was very selective. They had gone around the whole continent but only accepted four hundred disciples this time around. Of course, there were a few other talented boys, but they were sent to the Sun Cactus Sect because none of the elders wanted them as their personal disciples.

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Kid Vremya nodded at Rachel, causing the sect leader’s smile to slightly widen. The next words out of Kid Vremya’s mouth, however, caused her face to become stone cold. “None of you are qualified to be my master,” Kid Vremya said. He was the incarnation of a god! These people were just lower lifeforms trapped in his bellybutton. If he wanted to, he could eliminate all of them with a simple thought. How could he possibly lower his head and call one of them his master?

“Your arrogance is higher than the sky! You think you’re the only talented child to ever exist?” Elder Formation asked with her nostrils flared. She stood up in her seat. “You might have great potential, but you’re a moron! Do you think any sect would want you with an attitude like that?”

Kid Vremya snorted. “Your sect is blessed to have someone like me.”

Rachel frowned at the only boy standing in the plaza. Lines of text had popped up in her vision.

[Are you really going to let your chance to obtain those extinct plants slip away? This is the oppression I was talking about! How can geniuses thrive in an environment like this?]

Oppression? What oppression was there? The kid was simply way too arrogant! He acted as if he were a reincarnated immortal. Actually, now that she thought about it, perhaps the child was an old monster who had inhabited someone else’s body. A list of names went through her mind as she tried to figure out the boy’s true identity; however, none of the people she knew fit the criteria. For him to be so arrogant, he must’ve been a soul seed expert in his last life, but the last soul seed expert to disappear had done so over seven hundred years ago. In fact, Rachel suspected the boy to be related to the words appearing in her vision, but the words sounded like they were written by an overenthusiastic and naïve teenaged girl, not someone like Kid Vremya.

[I’m not naïve! What’s wrong with being enthusiastic, huh? Quickly, stop the oppression in your sect before something bad happens to your new star disciple!]

Rachel glanced around, realizing all the elders were looking at her, clearly waiting for her to judge the arrogant boy. “The boy shall be treated like any other disciple without an elder as their master. If I find out he’s been harmed in the dark by one of you, I’ll personally tear your head off.” Regardless of the boy’s identity, if she wanted the extinct plants required for the perfected Moon Lotus Cultivation Technique, she had to stand on the boy’s side … even if she personally wanted to drive a sword into the boy’s arrogant-looking face. Rachel’s gaze swept over the newly recruited disciples. None of them caught her eye. Compared to Kid Vremya, they were like fireflies while he was the sun. “As for the rest of them,” she said and gestured towards the elders. “If any of you want to take them in, feel free.”

The elders sighed and shook their heads. Like Rachel, they thought the new recruits were overshadowed by Kid Vremya. Heck, even their current disciples were looking a bit dull when compared to the child. A boy who wasn’t even five years of age had reached the fourth stage of qi condensation, what kind of concept was that? In the first place, a child was considered a genius if they were able to reach the first stage of qi condensation by the age of six! It wasn’t appropriate to call Kid Vremya a genius; it was an insult to his talent.

“You,” Elder Formation said, pointing at the girl standing beside Kid Vremya. “What’s your name?”

The girl didn’t flinch under the elder’s questioning. She cupped her hands and bowed her head, following noble etiquette. “My name is Azalea.”

“You’re quite good,” Elder Formation said. “I’m willing to make you my personal disciple as long as you have to confidence to defeat the boy standing next to you within five years. All of my resources shall be allocated to you. The question is … do you dare?”

Azalea swallowed and glanced at Kid Vremya. His eyes were closed, and as someone at the first stage of qi condensation, she could feel spiritual energy flowing into him from all directions. In fact, it felt like the spiritual energy within her own body wanted to leave her and join him. She swallowed and shook her head. “Elder,” she said to Elder Formation, “I can’t do it.” Although her parents would be disappointed with her for not even trying, she was sure they’d understand.

“Elder, I can do it!” a girl said and jumped to her feet. “The Moon Lotus Sect is supposed to be a place for girls, not smelly boys! When I’m older, I’ll surely beat him and kick him out of the sect!”

“What’s your name?”

“Ruby!”

“Come here, Ruby,” Elder Formation said and gestured towards the excited girl. “From this day forward, you’re my personal disciple.” The elder glared at Kid Vremya, but he didn’t give her the response she wanted. His eyes were closed, and to her, it seemed like he was on the verge of breaking through to the fifth stage of qi condensation. She had a feeling the resources she was about to pour into Ruby were going to be wasted at the end of the five years, but she couldn’t back out now after making that declaration.